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Unauthorized practitioner

Dempsey, John Ruiz

On application by the Law Society, the BC Supreme Court has ordered that John Ruiz Dempsey, of Surrey, cease holding himself out as a lawyer, appearing as counsel or otherwise practising law for a fee: Law Society of BC v. Dempsey 2005 BCSC 1277.

The court also prohibited Mr. Dempsey from commencing, prosecuting or defending a proceeding in any court in his name or in the name of another person unless he is an individual party to a proceeding acting solely on his own behalf. In addition, the court declared Mr. Dempsey to be a vexatious litigant pursuant to s. 18 of the Supreme Court Act and ordered that he be prohibited from continuing or commencing any legal proceeding on his own behalf in any court in BC without leave of the court.

Calling himself a lawyer, he initiated a large volume of cases on behalf of some people and many of the misguided actions he commenced were dismissed, leaving his “clients” ordered to pay costs. In 2007 a BC judge found him in contempt of a court injunction order, and he was sentenced to a month in jail.

If you have any questions or concerns with respect to unauthorized practice, or would like to report a possible instance of unauthorized practice, please phone the Law Society or email us at uap@lsbc.org.